Accurate Probabilistic Treatment of Bit-Pattern-Dependent Nonlinear Distortions in BER Calculations for WDM RZ Systems

We introduce a fully deterministic computationally efficient method for characterizing the effect of nonlinearity in optical fiber transmission systems that utilize wavelength division multiplexing and return-to-zero (RZ) modulation. The method is based on a probability analysis of the bit patterns, and it accurately accounts for bit-pattern-dependence effect due to both nonlinearly induced amplitude and timing jitter. We apply this method in calculating the error probability in a prototypical multichannel RZ undersea system in the presence of both nonlinear distortion and amplifier noise.